Southern States 200
April 12th - 16th, 2024
aka THE PINHOTI 200
TM
The Southern States 200 takes place on National Forest Lands. The run will cross through the Chattahoochee and Talladega National Forests.
The Southern States 200 will end in Cheaha State Park, the “Top of Alabama.” Lodging is available at the Bald Rock Inn, steps from the finish.
Race Date - April 12 - 16, 2024
The Southern States 200 will be one of only three Mountain TRAIL, POINT-TO-POINT, 200-mile races in the U.S. The run will follow the Legendary Pinhoti Trail from Georgia to Alabama.
The run will be 201.30 miles begins near Dalton, GA and ends on top of Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. The Southern States 200 is the only 200 Mile, point-to-point Mountain Trail Run East of the Rockies. Total elevation gain will be 27,812 feet. The course will be fully marked with prismatic reflective flags, ribbons, and signs. Runners will have 100 hours to complete the journey. We will provide 15 full aid stations and one minimal or water only aid station. Each with cooked-to-order, hot food, day and night. We may add one or two minimal aid station. Five of the full aid stations are also Sleep Stations. Each sleep station will have crew access. We will have medical personnel at most aid stations. Twelve of the aid stations will allow dropbags, 9 aid stations are crew accessible.
The Southern States 200 is an Endurance Adventure
The Southern States 200 is not a race. We want to emphasize that this is an awe-inspiring journey where the focus is on personal challenge, camaraderie, and self-discovery, rather than a traditional race with a competitive spirit. As you venture through the scenic and rugged landscapes, we encourage you to savor every moment, taking in the beauty of nature, pushing your limits, and supporting your fellow runners along the way. It's about testing your endurance, mental strength, and perseverance rather than striving for victory or rankings. Embrace the joy of running, embrace the journey, and remember that it's not about who finishes first, but rather the shared passion for exploration and the bond that forms between runners as they tackle this incredible adventure together. Let the trail guide you to new heights and may the memories you create on this trail run last a lifetime.
About the Southern States 200
The Southern States 200 was designed to ensure your success. No 200 mile run is easy. The Southern States 200 will certainly be difficult. The run starts in the mountains of north Georgia and has some significant climbs. Virtually the entire Alabama section is on single track trails or gravel forest roads. The mid-section of the run will be more forgiving. The section after the High Point Chattahoochee (Georgia) Aid Station to Huffaker Rd is all on rail-trails with a short section of single track. None is paved. The section from Coosa to Cave Spring is on back roads. A couple of miles out of Cave Spring, it’s back to mountain trails.
We have placed aid stations at strategic locations along the course. Each aid station will be serving an amazing selection of made-to-order food along with all the standard aid station fare. We will serve real Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at all aid stations with Veggie and Vegan options. All night, hot food will be available. We will have Sleep Stations at five of the Aid Station locations, mile 65, 93, 114, 151 and 173. Each sleep station will have a covered sleeping area with sleeping pads and blankets. Three of the Sleep Stations will be heated. As you enter, tell the volunteer how long you want to sleep, and they will send you on your way at the designated hour.
Our goal is your success. We promise to do everything in our power to help you accomplish your goal. We pledge to make your 200 mile run an experience you will never forget. We hope your run will be Fun! However, all those beautiful hills become steeper and longer with each successive mile. Those gentle rails-to-trails paths will become endless. That final climb to Cheaha may feel like you are climbing Everest. If you have put in enough training hours and miles, if you have mentally prepared yourself for the demand this run will put on your body, you can do it.
We will encourage you, push you, help you, and even yell at you if necessary, to get you to the end. We might even let you rest occasionally. If you are ready, you can do it. For experienced 100 mile runners, the Southern States 200 is no “Walk in the Park.” Just think about the last 100 you ran. Now imagine turning around at the end and running back to the start. That’s exactly what you are doing!
View the YouTube Flyover of the Southern States 200 Course. This video is not updated for the most recent course adjustments.
Click on this image to see the Flyover
Pinhoti Outdoor Center
3/30/2024 Update
We thought we were through with course updates. Nature decided otherwise! I had planned to use a FS road that led off FR 540 to get runner back on the Pinhoti Trail after the Duggar Mountain Wilderness Area. I marked the old forest road over to within 200 yards of the Pinhoti Trial. What I encountered could only be described as a “Treepocalypse.” Five or six huge trees had been blown down in the bottom of a very narrow, steep gorge. (Trees 3 to 4 ft. in diameter) The forest service had cut the trunks in sections but without a large bulldozer there would be no way to move them. I think they just gave up. So did I.
We rerouted the course, staying on FR 540, (known as Forty-Seven Summits) for an additional 2 miles to where it crosses the Pinhoti. Everyone will need to delete the old course GPX files from their GPS device and download the revised course. This adjustment does not make a significant difference in the aid station times or distances. The aid station files have not been updated.
3/10/2024 Update
We have had to move the Morgan Lake Aid Station. Our contact with the Talladega National Forest had been trying for weeks to get permission to use the Morgan Lake parking area for our final aid station. The problem turns out to be a safety issue. Apparently the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Dept. has a lot of trouble with illegal activity overnight at the lakes parking area. (The Pinhoti Trail does not go to the lake or the parking area. Hikers and runners must take a side trail several hundred yards over to the lake.)
We have moved Aid Station 16 to a small trail that will place the “Lost Gulch” aid station, 9.02 miles from the finish. This change has allowed us to move aid station 15 & 14, shortening the distance between each. Here is the updated aid station detail chart.
1/9/2024 Update
I am probably about to get in “BIG TROUBLE” with our Aid Station “General,” my wife Marye Jo. We are adding an aid station. Previously I thought there was no access to the Pinhoti Trail between Dry Creek and High Point Chattahoochee, a 20.7 mile long section. Yes, I know there is West Armuchee Rd, but that’s only 6 miles past the E. Armuchee Aid Station. We found a decent dirt road up to the Pinhoti Trail that will allow us to have an aid station just over halfway between E. Armuchee and High Point. It will be called the Narrows Picnic Aid Station, located at mile 51.51. It may be water only or possibly a minimal aid station. The aid station will likely be limited to a 10X10 tent, if that’s even possible. We are heading back that way in the next couple of weeks and will know more after a firsthand inspection. It will break up a very long stretch of trail.
12/20/2023 Update
We have some exciting news. We have reserved the Bald Rock Lodge, at Cheaha State Park, located just steps from the end of the Bald Rock Boardwalk in Cheaha State Park. This beautiful, historic stone building will be a wonderful place for the end of the race. The finish will be steps from the front door or the maybe back patio and door of the lodge. The Lodge has a large meeting room with a huge fireplace and, if the weather is nice, a very nice patio. The lodge also has a large commercial kitchen that will allow us to prepare some awesome post race meals.
The lodge has 11 lodge rooms available for runners to rent. We have reserved the lodge for three nights, starting Sunday, April 14th through Wednesday, April 17th. The room diagram is shown below. It can also be viewed on the Cheaha State Park website. We will rent all rooms except room 201. The rooms can only be rented for all 3 nights at $135.00 per night, or $405.00 total. There are no additional fees or taxes. Your crew can use the room before you arrive, or if you are fast, you can just hang out a day or two to recover and cheer in finishers. Your crew will also have 24 hour access to Cheaha State Park as you finish those last miles.
All rooms will be rented first-come, first-served. If you would like to reserve a room at the finish, let us know. We will send you a rental agreement with rooms still available and payment instructions. There are photos of the lodge below. I could not find any photos of the lodge rooms. The rooms are small but very nice and clean. Each room has a private bath. If you would like to reserve one of the 11 rooms, Contact us via email at information@southernstates200.com to find out which rooms are still available. Then fill out reservations form below, along with the Cheaha State Park Liability Waiver, and send it to the address on the form along with a check for $405.00. Your requested room will be held for 5 days. If we have not received your rental agreement and check within that 5 day period, the room will be available to rent by others. You may be assigned another room.
The Bald Rock Lodge
Here is a good video about Cheaha State Park, the finish location of the Southern States 200. This video is by Bradley Gann, owner of EagleFilm. Click on the image below to see the YouTube Video.
